clipped from: adage.com   

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- With nearly 48,000 iPhone applications in circulation, it's easy to forget how young the mobile "app economy" really is. The iTunes App Store has been around only 11 months; it registered its billionth download after nine months.

Once, just having a smartphone application was enough, but the era of novelty -- the blowing, shaking, one-trick-pony app -- is pretty much over. To rise above the clutter, an app has to be truly useful, whether it's created by a brand or by an entrepreneur.

Don't rush it
It's also critical not to rush an app to market. Unlike a website, a buggy app can't easily be updated, and can sabotage users' experience. Mr. Zachary headed the 10-person team that developed the iPhone app for President Barack Obama's campaign for the White House. Development of that app took 22 days, but Mr. Zachary said most take much longer to get right. The backlog on Apple's review process for new apps stands at 12 to 14 days.